2026
The First, Second, and Third Rome – in Paris
The Cardinals attending the extraordinary consistory in Rome will depart today, just as the customary delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople arrives for the solemn feast of Peter and Paul. It’s an annual fraternal custom. A…
Amateur Impressions of the Odyssey
A long drive recently allowed me to listen to the unabridged audiobook of Homer’s Odyssey. It was worth all 780+ minutes. Hearing the poem helped me understand why it is foundational to the Western understanding of human life, and how archetypal…
Becoming Relics – The Catholic Thing
As you surely know, not least because it has been mentioned repeatedly in these pages, the bishops of the United States, in preparation of the celebration for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence have consecrated the entire…
What Does Love Look Like?
It’s a commonplace observation that most people think more readily in pictures than in abstract concepts, and that stories move and transform us in ways that logical arguments often don’t. God, who of course knows this, therefore has revealed…
Two Views on Just War
Just-War Reflections Randall Smith The next synod might or might not deal with the Church’s “just war” doctrine. So, let me go on record as saying: I don’t like war. It doesn’t represent a great “profile in courage” to say that. I mean, who…
Can the Catholic Church Save Education?
There’s a strange ferment underway in American education. This week, two promising Catholic initiatives emerged: a gathering at Christendom College on K-12 education that resulted in the Front Royal Principles, and a high-level consultation in…
A Perfect Model of Fatherhood
Excerpted from Address of John Paul II to the members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, June 4, 1999 The theme of fatherhood, which you have chosen for this plenary meeting, refers to the third year of preparation for the Great Jubilee,…
Of Jesus and Life at the Bottom
Among the greatest challenges that Jesus poses to His disciples are His prescriptions on wealth. On the one hand, Jesus extolls poverty. He begins the Beatitudes with the declaration, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of…
Whatever Happened to Natural Law?
There are many crises in the Catholic Church today, but one of the most serious is the dismal state of moral theology. That crisis has its roots in the confusion and intellectual ferment that ensued in the aftermath of Vatican II. Progressive…
Faith in Space – The Catholic Thing
During the high point of investment clubs – back in the dark ages, long ago, in 1998! – mom and pop investors would gather and use a tool such as the NAIC’s “Stock Selection Guide,” to pick stocks based on a ten-year record of sales, earnings,…